I’m participating in the Mural Arts Exchange Program through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, currently traveling throughout Nicaragua to meet with youth and other community groups from five different cities. In each location, we’ll be creating murals together. As of now, we’ve completed three and have two more to go. Here’s a recap of the first mural, in El Viejo.
As photos of the Paris Solidarity March emerged featuring international heads of state arm-in-arm, Americans could not help but ask, where was President Obama?
This recent controversy surrounding the lack of U.S. representation at a march against violent extremism underscores one of the most undervalued aspects of effective diplomacy: simply showing up. Continue
As we all do, I have been thinking a lot about what 2015 will bring. Here are some of my thoughts, in no particular order, on what U.S. foreign policy must focus on this year. 1) Revitalize NATO NATO is a critical body for international security, but its importance and resources have been waning. As Russia tests the limits of NATO’s resolve, aggravating Cold War mentalities, NATO must stand strong as a coalition to safeguard freedom, security, and democratic values. 2) Finalize and adopt outstanding trade deals Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)...
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After a lot of back and forth and even after President Obama weighed in, Sony decided to release, as scheduled, the movie The Interview. Over the long holiday break, I was able to watch it from the comfort of my own living room! As I mentioned in a previous post, having traveled to North Korea in the summer of 2012, I was curious to see how closely the movie portrayed the reality of the country. I will not comment here about the artistic or the cinematic value of the film. I’m not a movie critic. Plenty others have done it, and I’ll agree with most that it was indeed hilarious. I’ll therefore limit my observations to a comparison of the North Korea I’ve seen on the ground with the one shown in the movie. Continue
As Past Forward: Contemporary Art from the Emirates continues its tour around the United States, the MCCD staff was touched to hear from Zeinab Al Hashemi and Khalid Mezaina – Emirati artists featured in the exhibition – who visited Washington, D.C., during the exhibition launch at Meridian’s Cafritz Galleries this past May. Read what the artists had to say about their exchange:
